Caramelized Apple and Yogurt Cake with Breezy Hill Apples

Nothing says fall like this Upside Down Caramelized Apple and Yogurt Cake! The deep flavor of the apples with the lemony yogurt cake underneath is a perfect combination. Apples are at their peak right now, so make sure to pick local ones if you can. We picked ours from Breezy Hill Orchards. You can prepare the cake in two steps if it makes it easier, starting with the caramelized apples the day before and finishing the day of by adding the cake batter over the refrigerated baked apples.             

For the recipe: 

• 200 grams ( 1 cup) sugar
• 50 grams (4 tablespoon) butter
• 1 kg (2.2 lbs) apples
• 200 gram (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 200 grams (1 cup) sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• 190 grams (3/4 cup) whole-milk yogurt
• 110 grams (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon rum
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste

You'll need a loaf pan. Set oven at 350F.

Make a caramel by adding sugar to a hot pan and continuously stirring until melted completely and making sure not to let it burn.
Once all of the sugar has a nice deep amber color, add 2 teaspoons of water to stop the cooking, then whisk in the butter.  Pour caramel into a loaf pan (that you've buttered) making sure to cover the bottom of the pan evenly.
Peel, core and quarter the apples and place on top of caramel, cored side up. Cover with aluminum foil, make a few holes in the foil and place in the oven for 45 minutes or until apples are caramelized.  Remove the cover and bake for another 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool slightly before adding the batter. 
To make the yogurt cake, whisk the dry ingredients and the lemon zest together.  
In another bowl, whisk the wet ingredients until well combined.  Fold in the dry ingredients making sure not to over mix. 
Pour on top of cooled apples and bake for around 40 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Rotate once during baking. Cool slightly and flip to unmold. 

Rumtopf (Part III)

It's time to add some apples to our Rumtopf. If you follow along don't forget to sprinkle the fruit with sugar, mix, and let this mixture sit for 30 minutes before adding the rum. You can find the Rumtopf recipe here.

Apple Hotpot with Harlem Shamble's Sausages

Fall has arrived and we are craving more hearty foods as the temperatures drop. Fortunately our local butcher Harlem Shambles makes the most delicious sausages and we adapted Nigel Slater's hotpot recipe to make this delicious hotpot:

For the recipe:

• 125 grams dry cannellini beans
• 2 small onions
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
• 1 pinch fennel seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 pork sausages, cut into short links
• 1 large apple
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 glass of Madeira wine
• 500 grams of stock
• 1 tablespoon grain mustard

Soak the beans overnight in cold water. Drain and bring to a boil in fresh water for about 40 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Peel and cut the onions into thick slices.  Place them in a pan with olive oil over low medium heat and stir occasionally until lightly coloured.  Add the garlic, fennel seeds, and bay leaf and cook for 2 minutes more. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Brown the sausages on all sides.  In the meantime, peel, core and cut the apples in quarters.  
Add the onions back to the pan along with the apples and flour and cook for 5 minutes. 
Pour in the Madeira and stock and stir.  Add half the mustard, season and simmer for 25 minutes.
Add the beans, season and cook for another 25 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. 
Stir in the rest of the mustard and eat! 

October: What's in Season?

Apples and Winter Squash!